America at Risk : Threats to Liberal Self-government in an Age of Uncertainty

America at Risk collects original essays by a distinguished and bipartisan group of writers and intellectuals who gather to discuss this simple question, a question that should concern Americans of every political persuasion. The answers, which range from dwindling political participation to rising poverty, and religion to empire, add up to a valuable and timely portrait of a particular moment in the history of American ideas.While the opinions are many, there is a central theme in the book: the corrosion of the liberal constitutional order that has so long guided the country at home and abroad. The authors write in accessible language about the demonstrably important dangers the United States faces while also breaking the usual academic boundaries: there are chapters on the family, religious polarization, immigration, and the economy, as well as on governmental and partisan issues. This is a required reading for all Americans concerned about the future of their country.